1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to data and telecommunications networks and more particularly to an advanced intelligent network service providing electronic mail notification.
2. Background of the Invention
Electronic mail (email) has become a very important means of communication in the homes of many people. Typically, email users in a home may share one or more computer systems which may or may not be connected a network in an “always on” fashion. In such multi-user environments, there is no convenient method for a typical user to be notified of the arrival of a new email message without the user first logging on to the computer system and then checking his or her inbox for new messages. Even when the computer is connected to an “always on” communications network, there is no convenient means for individually alerting a user when a message has been received for that particular user.
Because of the lack of a convenient email notification system, the burden is on the user to actively check for the arrival of email—requiring the user to boot up the computer and activate a network communications session. One problem with the conventional model for checking email arises when a user is expecting an email message from a specific sender, but has only a limited amount of time for accessing the computer or network needed for logging on to determine whether or not the message has arrived. In this case, the user must constantly check his or her inbox to see if the message has arrived, and each time, there is no way of knowing whether or not that message or any messages have been received. Even when the user is fortunate enough to have a shared always-on environment (e.g., an always on broadband internet appliance shared by members of a family), there is still no convenient, shared interface by which to notify all members of email arrival. A need therefor exists for systems and methods for notifying a user that an email message has arrived without requiring access to the computer or the communications network.